Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

36 CRASHES IN
LUDLOW, MA
JULY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2023

In July 2024, Ludlow experienced 36 crashes, a decrease of 34.5% compared to the 55 crashes recorded in July 2023. The most notable shift was an increase in total fatalities from 0 in July 2023 to 1 in July 2024.

36

-34.5%was 55

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

11

-42.1%was 19

Persons Injured

4

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Ludlow showed a downward trend year-over-year, with total crashes decreasing by 34.5% from 55 to 36. Concurrently, total injuries also saw a significant reduction of 42.1%, falling from 19 to 11. However, despite fewer crashes and injuries, total fatalities increased from 0 in the prior period to 1 in the current period.

4

Hit-and-Run Crashes — July 2024

0.0% vs prior (4)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained constant at 4 incidents in both July 2023 and July 2024. However, due to a decrease in overall crashes, the hit-and-run rate increased from 7.3% of total crashes in the prior period to 11.1% in the current period. This indicates that while the absolute count stayed the same, hit-and-run incidents constituted a larger proportion of total crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

11

Motorists Injured

Prior: 19-42.1%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal distribution of crashes shifted year-over-year, with Friday becoming the peak day for crashes in July 2024 with 10 incidents, up from 5 on Fridays in July 2023. Conversely, Saturday, which had 10 crashes in July 2023, saw a decrease to 3 crashes in July 2024. The peak crash hour also changed from 1p (10 crashes) in July 2023 to 4p (5 crashes) in July 2024, indicating a shift in high-frequency crash times.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The crash severity profile changed significantly, with the fatal crash rate increasing from 0% in July 2023 to 2.8% in July 2024, corresponding to 1 fatal crash. The proportion of minor injury crashes decreased from 18.2% (10 crashes) to 13.9% (5 crashes), and possible injury crashes decreased from 7.3% (4 crashes) to 2.8% (1 crash). Concurrently, the proportion of no-injury crashes increased from 67.3% (37 crashes) to 77.8% (28 crashes) year-over-year.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes2.8%
Minor Injury5minor injury crashes13.9%
-50.0%prior 10
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes2.8%
-75.0%prior 4
No Injury28no injury crashes77.8%
-24.3%prior 37

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to 'Inattention' decreased significantly from 16 in July 2023 to 6 in July 2024, representing a 62.5% reduction in count. While 'No improper driving' remained a leading factor, its count decreased from 11 to 9 crashes, an 18.2% reduction. Conversely, crashes due to 'Followed too closely' saw a 300% increase in count, rising from 1 to 4 crashes, and 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' crashes increased by 50% from 2 to 3 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving9 (25%)-18.2%prior 11
Inattention6 (16.7%)-62.5%prior 16
Followed too closely4 (11.1%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit3 (8.3%)
Failed to yield right of way2 (5.6%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (5.6%)
Other improper action2 (5.6%)
Over-correcting/over-steering2 (5.6%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 37 in July 2023 to 29 in July 2024. A notable reduction was observed in crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces, which fell from 8 incidents in the prior period to just 1 in the current period. Crashes during 'Daylight' conditions also decreased from 43 to 32, and crashes in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions decreased from 4 to 2.

Weather

Clear29 (80.6%)
-21.6%prior 37
Cloudy3 (8.3%)
Clear/Cloudy2 (5.6%)
Clear/Other2 (5.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight32 (88.9%)
-25.6%prior 43
Dark - lighted roadway2 (5.6%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (2.8%)
Dusk1 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry35 (97.2%)
-22.2%prior 45
Wet1 (2.8%)
-87.5%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 96 in July 2023 to 73 in July 2024. Among specific makes, HONDA vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 12 to 6, and TOYOTA vehicles decreased from 11 to 5. NISSAN vehicles maintained a consistent involvement of 7 in both periods, while FORD and HYUNDAI vehicles saw slight decreases in involvement.

Top Vehicle Makes (73 vehicles)

1
NISSAN7 (9.6%)
0.0%prior 7
2
FORD6 (8.2%)
-25.0%prior 8
3
HYUNDAI6 (8.2%)
-14.3%prior 7
4
HONDA6 (8.2%)
-50.0%prior 12
5
TOYOTA5 (6.8%)
-54.5%prior 11
6
CHEVROLET4 (5.5%)
-33.3%prior 6
7
JEEP4 (5.5%)
-20.0%prior 5
8
SUBARU4 (5.5%)
-20.0%prior 5
9
LEXUS3 (4.1%)
10
MITS2 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Vehicle unit records

9 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.

Sex Distribution (71 persons with recorded sex)

Male44 (62.0%)
-15.4%prior 52
Female27 (38.0%)
-51.8%prior 56

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 35 mph speed zones decreased from 19 in July 2023 to 11 in July 2024, and crashes in 30 mph zones also fell from 12 to 8. Conversely, crashes in 25 mph zones saw a slight increase from 6 to 7. Although crashes in 65 mph zones decreased from 7 to 6, this speed zone recorded 1 fatal crash in July 2024 compared to 0 fatal crashes in the same zone in July 2023.

Fatal crashes by zone: 65 mph: 1 of 6 (16.667%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Posted speed limit at crash location

Data Sources & Methodology

Primary Data Source

All crash data in this report is sourced from Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), accessed programmatically via the Arcgis_yearly Open Data API (SODA). This dataset contains official police-reported motor vehicle traffic crash records maintained by the reporting jurisdiction's law enforcement agency. Records are published to the open data portal by the municipality and are subject to the portal's terms of use.

Data Retrieval

  • Access method: Arcgis_yearly Open Data API (SoQL queries)
  • Data format: Structured JSON via REST API
  • Record types queried: Crash events, person records, and vehicle unit records
  • Date filter applied: 2024-07-01 through 2024-07-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-07-01 through 2024-07-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: LUDLOW, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 36
  • Total persons involved: 87
  • Total vehicles involved: 73

Analytical Methodology

  • Severity classification: Uses the KABCO injury scale (K=Fatal, A=Incapacitating injury, B=Non-incapacitating injury, C=Possible injury, O=No injury/property damage only), the standard classification in U.S. Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC). Severity is assigned per crash event based on the most severe injury in that crash. A single fatal crash (K) may involve multiple fatalities; therefore the "Persons Killed" count in the headline KPIs may differ from the "Fatal" crash count in the severity breakdown.
  • Contributing factors: Reflect the officer-determined primary contributory cause recorded at the time of the crash report. These are preliminary determinations and may not reflect final investigation findings.
  • Hit-and-run classification: Based on the hit-and-run indicator field in the official crash report, as determined by the responding officer at the scene.
  • Temporal analysis: Day-of-week and hour-of-day distributions are computed from the crash date/time timestamp in each record.
  • Demographics: Age and sex distributions are drawn from person-level records linked to each crash event. A single crash may involve multiple persons.
  • Vehicle data: Make information is drawn from vehicle unit records linked to each crash event.
  • AI commentary: Narrative sections are generated by Google Gemini (large language model) based on the structured data. Commentary is descriptive, not predictive, and should not be interpreted as expert opinion.

Limitations & Disclaimers

  • Only crashes reported to and documented by law enforcement are included. Minor incidents, unreported crashes, and near-misses are not captured in this dataset.
  • Data reflects conditions at the time of the initial police report and may be subject to subsequent corrections, reclassifications, or supplements by the reporting agency.
  • Open data portal records may experience a publication lag - recently occurring crashes may not yet appear in the dataset at the time of report generation.
  • AI-generated commentary is produced by a large language model and is intended to highlight patterns in the data. It does not constitute legal, medical, or professional analysis.
  • Percentages are calculated from reported data and are subject to rounding.

Non-Affiliation Disclosure

This report is produced independently by ThatCarHitMe.com (Injuria.ai). It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in partnership with any law enforcement agency, municipal government, state department of transportation, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Data is sourced from publicly available government open data portals.

Data License

The underlying crash data is provided under the municipality's Open Data Terms of Use and is made available to the public for unrestricted use. This analysis and report is © 2026 Injuria.ai and may be cited with attribution using the suggested citation below.

Corrections & Feedback

If you believe any data in this report is inaccurate or have questions about our methodology, please contact: data@injuria.ai. We are committed to accuracy and will issue corrections promptly.

Suggested Citation

ThatCarHitMe.com (Injuria.ai). "LUDLOW, MA Crash Intelligence Report: July 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/ludlow/july-2024-report

About the Publisher

ThatCarHitMe.com is a crash data intelligence platform developed by Injuria.ai, a legal technology company specializing in traffic safety analytics. We aggregate and analyze publicly available government crash data to produce structured intelligence reports for communities, researchers, journalists, and legal professionals. Our reports combine programmatic data retrieval from official open data portals with AI-assisted narrative analysis.

Questions about this report's data or methodology: data@injuria.ai

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Ludlow, MA Crash Report — July 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com